Pitchforks up! Verizon planning own app store, won't include Windows Marketplace

Leave it to Verizon to spoil the party. The great news that Microsoft will make Windows Marketplace for Mobile available for Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 was tempered somewhat a whole bunch by news that Verizon won't allow the Marketplace upfront. Instead, VZW is launching its own app store and will announce it July 28.

From Gigaom [via]:

Verizon’s Ryan Hughes, VP Partner Management, said in an interview Friday that the network operator’s app store will be the sole marketplace on devices sold by the company, meaning stores such as Research In Motion’s BlackBerry App World or Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Marketplace won’t get placement on Verizon handsets unless a consumer downloads them. Hughes also said that Verizon is focusing on aggregating content from four different developer communities: Windows Mobile, Palm, Android and BlackBerry.

So it sounds like Verizon will be shipping phones without Marketplace already on them. It's not yet known exactly how Marketplace will be pushed out to current phones, whether it's just an app install or a full ROM upgrade, so we're not sure how Verizon customers would go about getting the Marketplace post-purchase.

If this turns out to be on the level, Verizon will lose any goodwill gained by finally unlocking the GPS on the Saga and Touch Pro. (And we're still waiting on the Omnia, tap, tap, tap.)

Update: Gotta love Daring Fireball's reaction.